Legal Question in Criminal Law in North Dakota

Cops Trashing Houses?

The question you ask here -- CAN police do something -- is different from what I believe you intend to ask, so I'll pose three questions and answer each of them.CAN police trash your house when executing a search warrant -- well, the cop has a gun on his hip, so he CAN pretty much do as he damn well pleases unless you have a bigger gun.DO police trash houses when executing search warrants -- yes, quite often.Is it LEGAL for police to trash houses when executing search warrants -- NO, but the cops will deny they did so, and who is going to be believed, a boy in blue, or some drug-dealing scum?NO ONE lies more in court than the police.

What's left, after the search....?

I have personally witnessed police absolutely tearing up a house, almost gleefully enjoying themselves. For example, one could sift one's hand down through the flour looking for a "stash" instead of throwing the flour across the room, but they often will go for the throw.Nothing is always, some police teams are very professional and some are very lazy and don't really search very much at all. Clients have told me many times over the years of cases where they missed the main stash of drugs or whatever. (See, the Book Snowblind).I think you question what consequences ensue and, of course, the predicate question regarding consequences is whether they found any contraband or not. The validity of the warrant is fixed in time at the moment it was signed. Strictly speaking, if they have probable cause to search, then the search is legal whether anything is actually found or not. That is what "probable" cause means, after all. It doesn't require "certain" cause.I am aware of at least one case where the police went on a rampage on a house up near Victorville CA and flat out destroyed a lot of the property. It is possible to go too far as shown there when several police were prosecuted. Of course, they weren't convicted. I wonder if the D.A. really had his heart in it?